


As Time Would Have It

by evelitan



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, M/M, minor Malec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29441064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelitan/pseuds/evelitan
Summary: Based loosely on the events of the final episodes of season 1, the story follows the return of Lydia Branwell to the Institute of New York but this time she ends up enjoying her time there and surprisingly she discovers something worth staying around for. Well, someone...
Relationships: Lydia Branwell/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 6
Kudos: 1
Collections: Rare Pair Gift Exchange





	As Time Would Have It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MuscleMemory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MuscleMemory/gifts).



> Rare Pair: Lydia Branwell/ Isabelle Lightwood  
> Story created for: 2021 Shadowhunters Rare Pair Exchange and dedicated to Sfjessii  
  
---  
  
Today was the day. Maryse had gathered them all late last night, only to inform them that the Clave had sent an envoy of Shadowhunters to stay in the Institute for a while, at least until the attacks instigated by Valentine subsided and Clary knew how to fight better. Isabelle had a feeling her mother knew more than she was telling them but when had that not been the case between them? She had made peace with that a long time ago, that’s why she was now walking the halls leading to the kitchen and pestering Alec for more information on the matter.

“Do we know at least who they are sending?” – Isabelle asked as she walked into the kitchen for a cup of black tea with Alec in tow.

“I only know that we’re getting a couple of additional Shadowhunters to deal with the increasing downworlders attacks in New York.” – He said and moved to get a cup of coffee for himself.

“How long are they staying for?” – Izzy’s curiosity was one of the things that hadn’t changed since she was a little girl.

“Iz, I literally know what you know. Mom didn’t tell me anything more but until Clary is fully trained and ready, we can’t stand with our hands crossed and wait for the next attack. Valentine’s influence in growing with each day.” – Alec said and sipped from the steaming black liquid in his cup.

“And that is exactly why we’re accepting all the help we can get from the Clave.” – Maryse walked into the kitchen too, fixing her hair and making sure it was tightly gathered in a ponytail.

The opening of the heavy institute doors alerted them that the new arrivals were already here and Maryse ushered Isabelle and Alec out of the kitchen to meet the newcomers and see who their new teammate would be.

Time seemed to stop for a second when the Lightwood siblings saw the person standing in front of everyone else, black pants, tactical shoes, and a light brown blazer, head standing high and with hair carefully braided there stood none other than Lydia Branwell.

It’s been a little over three months since the most disastrous wedding of the Shadow world, or at least since the infamous wedding ceremony of Alec Lightwood and Lydia. At first, there were many shocked guests and Maryse had almost gotten a heart attack as she saw her son kissing Magnus Bane but now that she had seen how happy her boy is, she was glad he had the courage to stand up for his love.

“You have got to be kidding me.” – Alec murmured under his nose but tried to keep his expression neutral as Lydia approached them. Her stance was just as confident as before even if a tad stiff, her chin held high but her eyes were filled with uncertainty. It was safe to say that she didn’t feel completely at ease standing there either.

“Maryse. Alec. Isabelle.” – Lydia acknowledged everyone with a curt nod of her head.

“Lydia, we’re happy to have you here. Things have been getting harder to manage with the increasing attacks.” – Maryse spoke first.

“You are all welcome to start patrolling with our teams, each of you has already been assigned to one so go find your teammates.” - She added and the rest of the newcomers scrambled already having heard their orders.

“Lydia you can leave your things and meet Alec and Isabelle here in twenty minutes, you are patrolling tonight.” – Maryse said to Lydia and turned around to go back to her own work, the Clave had sent them ten more people and they didn’t have any time to waste. 

“Lydia, can we talk for a second?” – Alec asked, one of his hands rubbing his neck, Izzy could tell her brother was nervous but she got the hint and excused herself.

Seeing Lydia back in the Institute made Isabelle feel a little tense, she wasn’t her biggest fan but after she heard what the blonde said at her trial and the fact that she tried to stop it made her company a little less unpleasant.

Sparing her brother and Lydia one last glance before she went to the armory, Izzy saw Lydia saying something that made Alec let out a small smile and he extended his hand, shaking hers in return before they parted ways.

Their first mission with Lydia was a success, they managed to bring down the four demons without taking any major hits themselves. Lydia might not have been the most talkative person in the world, far from it in fact but it wasn’t as if Izzy and Alec had tried to maintain a conversation going either, the three fought well together and that was enough.

The first week went by quickly, doing most of the same stuff as before, train, patrol, sleep and repeat. Usually, Alec spent every free moment he had with Magnus and when he stopped by the Institute, he wasn’t surprised to see Lydia training there now. Izzy opted to keep her distance but kept a close eye on Lydia, she hadn’t seen her talk much with her brother since the first day they saw each other again and most of the time they spent together they’d either train or discuss the plan for their next patrol.

Two weeks went by and Izzy could see that everyone still seemed to walk on eggshells around her, besides Alec and Magnus who were actually starting to warm up to her. Most people avoided her because they thought she'd kill them only with her glance and others were simply avoiding her because they knew she'd kick their asses on the training mat and wanted to avoid bruises. During that time, Isabelle had been watching the blonde woman stick to her own for the entire time she'd been there, she trained on her own, ate on her own, and even chilled in the garden on her own. The younger Lightwood was getting curious now and small part of her was starting to feel bad for Lydia. She was a good fighter, she’d even saved Izzy and Alec’s bacons a couple of times already and hadn’t mentioned it after that. It felt like they had fallen into a comfortable routine and their improvised team functioned well.

The fact that Lydia was strikingly beautiful was also a factor that made Izzy keep her distance from her, she didn’t want to complicate the situation even further so she pretended not to notice the glances she received from Lydia when the blonde thought that Izzy wasn’t looking at her. However, the younger Lightwood couldn’t help herself and one foggy Saturday morning she broke her resolve.

The Institute was almost empty, save for the two or three Shadowhunters left that were roaming the halls and the team that was patrolling the streets now, Alec had gone to Magnus’ and Clary was spending the weekend with Jace and Simon, trying to get them _not_ to kill each other. Lydia was alone in the training room, she’d just finished punching the boxing bag and droplets of sweat were falling down the sides of her face. Izzy looked at her as she kicked and punched the bag, she could see the muscles flexing under her skin and Lydia’s focused expression, never breaking contact with her imaginary opponent. Izzy’s mind came up with a tempting idea and she made her way to the weapons rack and then to Lydia, holding steadily a staff in her hands.

"Come on, let's see what you've got." - Isabelle said as she threw a staff at Lydia, the challenge evident in her voice.

"Are you sure? I won't go easy on you." - Lydia arched her eyebrow as she saw Izzy getting into position.

"I have no doubt about that but I assure you I can hold my own." - Isabelle said with a smirk at the end and felt the snake unwrap from her wrist, transforming her electrum whip in a solid staff in the blink of an eye.

And so they began, no slow swings at the beginning like with Clary, no careful movements like with Alec, no time for hesitant attacks like with Jace... Lydia was uninterrupted, fierce chain of movement. She swung her staff over her head and managed to lend a quick hit on Isabelle's cheek. For a split-second worry flashed in the blonde’s eyes but when she saw Izzy looking at her with fierce determination instead of anger and spite, her worried lessened. The next couple of minutes every attack was met with a block and Isabelle couldn't help but smile as she finally found an opening and sharply thrusted the end of her staff into Lydia's stomach, making her tumble backward in pain that only lasted a couple of moments.

"You're better than I expected. " - Izzy said with another smug smile and watched Lydia regain her position.

"I can say the same thing for you." - The blonde tried to sound menacing but it was a difficult task to achieve while admitting Izzy was an excellent fighter, perhaps even better than herself. Their rivalry seemed to have shifted into something else in nature. 

Lydia was now standing in front of Isabelle, holding her staff in position, her feet began moving as she saw the younger Lightwood circle her. The blonde was the perfect image of control even now, composed and focused even though her breathing was fast and she already had several bruises forming on her skin. Isabelle couldn’t help but let her eyes roam over the blonde’s body, smirking as she saw the other woman struggling to keep her eyes from straying down her figure was well.

“You have a good balance but you cannot control everything.” – Izzy said as she attacked.

Lydia could feel the heat coming off in waves from Isabelle’s body standing so close to her, she could also smell the faint scent of orange blossoms that clang to Izzy’s hair. For a moment her mind got clouded and she missed the way Izzy’s lips curled up as she brought her foot between Lydia’s and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Knocking Lydia’s staff out of her hands, it landed on the other side of the training room, far from her reach as well and now the blonde found herself pinned to the ground with a smirking Isabelle Lightwood on top of her. 

Even though Izzy was the shorter one out of the two of them, she held her tightly pinned to the ground now and her self-satisfied smile made Lydia wonder why she had wasted those two weeks until and hadn’t talked with Isabelle on the first day like she did with Alec. She wouldn’t say she and the older Lightwood were friends yet but they were getting there and at least things between them weren’t awkward anymore. Grabbing Lydia by the wrists, Izzy let the staff transform back to a bracelet around her own wrist.

“Do you yield?” – Izzy asked and tightened her grip just to convey her point.

“I don’t give up so easily.” – Lydia said and did something no Shadowhunter had ever tried before, a bold and daring move that nobody had tried in years. She started tickling Izzy and the woman quickly rolled aside and Lydia used the moment to turn their positions.

“That’s cheating!” – Isabelle managed to say between laughs.

“Everything is fair when you’re pinned to the ground.” – Lydia said and secured Izzy’s hand under her. Even though this had started as a fight, it quickly turned into something completely else, even though they’d both tried to actively stay away from each other when they weren’t patrolling, the tension that had now settled between them was too heavy to be ignored. Lydia’s ocean blue eyes were almost black, mirroring the desire that burned in Isabelle’s and their bodies were mere inches apart when Izzy felt the other woman’s erratic heartbeat and…

A loud clash came from the kitchen breaking the moment between them, it seemed Izzy wasn’t the only one that should be prohibited from entering that space without anyone keeping an eye on her, she had only caused a few minor fires anyway.

Lydia moved from on top of Izzy as if she had burned her, she should’ve just yielded when her back hit the ground and save herself from this torture. She quickly got to her feet and was ready to walk away, leaving a stunned Isabelle behind her when she heard Izzy calling after her but decided to ignore her.

“Lydia, wait!” – Isabelle jumped on her feet too and tried to stop the other woman but the blonde’s feet were moving quickly away from her.

Something cold and thin wrapped around Lydia’s wrist and when she brought her hand up to see what it was, she was both frustrated and surprised to see the end of Izzy’s whip coiled around her skin, enough pressure to only make her stop in her tracks as Isabelle approached her.

“You have been avoiding me ever since you came and when you finally talk to me you run away again, what is your problem?” – Izzy asked her, her dark brown eyes now filled with hurt.

“Oh, because you’ve been so welcoming Isabelle?” – Lydia asked rhetorically.

“I just…” – Izzy started but wasn’t sure where to actually start from.

“You know what forget it.” – She said and tried to end the conversation, this time it was she that was walking away.

“I didn’t want to make it weird okay?” – Lydia quickly answered frustrated and saw Isabelle stop and turn to look at her once more.

“Well, weirder at least.” – She added with a small voice and took a deep breath.

“I was the one that almost got you stripped of your runes and I know you didn’t like me before that either and now we were finally starting to work well together... I didn’t want to put at risk the way our team works.” – The blonde explained and saw Izzy cross her hands in front of her, this wasn’t her favorite subject to talk about but it was necessary.

“I saw you not only letting but also encouraging Alec to go with Magnus even though it meant destroying all your chances of leading this Institute and I also heard what you said at my hearing. I know now why you thought you were doing the right thing.” – Izzy admitted.

“Yeah well, turns out Alec wasn’t my type at all.” – Lydia said with a small shake of her head. She didn’t like having to talk about her feelings where everyone could hear her so she tried to deflect with dry humor and started walking away again.

Izzy could feel her heart beating rapidly now, she hadn’t been wrong after all, Lydia seemed to feel the same attraction as her so maybe it was time to clear the air between them once and for all. Swinging with her whip once more, Izzy tugged at Lydia’s arm until she was standing within reach again.

“Can you stop running away every time I try to tell you something or can you only talk to me while you’re on the stand?” – Izzy asked feigning frustration.

“Ugh! Do you expect me to write you a formal apology about that or…?” – Lydia was about to say something more when she felt Isabelle’s lips press against her.

The kiss was slow and hesitant at first but Lydia quickly snapped out of the surprised stupor and kissed her back, feeling Izzy smile against her.

“I expect you to stop brooding alone from now on and let me take you out tonight. It’s not our night to patrol so I can show you around the city and we can do more of this.” – Izzy said as she leaned in for another kiss.

“Deal.” – Lydia managed to say between kisses and felt Isabelle’s hands wrap around her middle, pulling her close. It was a little over three months and two weeks since the most disastrous wedding in the Shadow world and Lydia had never been happier.


End file.
